Friday, March 25, 2016

As the crow flies, it's only 70km from Queenstown to Milford Sound, but crows don't make roads. Luckily (and I know I've said it a million times), the 4 hour drive is beautiful, even on a rainy day like today.

I suggest, however, that you take Google maps seriously when it comes to travel times in New Zealand. The roads are winding hill passes on steroids and you will need to take that amount of time, trust me!

In some ways, the rain was a blessing. Water cascaded on the beautiful rocks of the hills beside the road forming impromptu waterfalls. It also meant we had many lookouts all to ourselves!

There is only a handful of free camp spots outside of Milford Sound, and Milford Sound itself only has a small, expensive caravan park that runs at full capacity. We figured we'd drive in anyway (through a very cool tunnel and down a very twisty steep road), and drive back out if we couldn't find anything. The caravan park was in fact full, and no other accommodation on offer. Luckily, a local let us know that despite the "no camp" signs on the carpark, the Department of Convervation lets you stay overnight for $20. We were so relieved at this news, because the rain was getting heavier, the day was getting on and the idea of driving back out on the crazy road did not appeal to either of us.

Unlike most other places in New Zealand, Milford Sound has remained relatively undeveloped. This means there's a small visitors centre with cafe style food, the modern building from where the boats leave from, the caravan park, a private walking club type lodge, and that's about it. It would be easy to come here unprepared when so many other places boast lots of accommodation and food options.

We enjoyed a very quiet and relaxed time in the camper in the downpouring rain, cackling Kea and the loudest thunder I have ever heard in my life.

The next day the rain had mostly cleared, and we joined a small group on a small family run boat to explore Milford Sound itself. We took the good advice that most tour buses arrive at lunch time, which means the lunch time tours are the busiest and the morning ones not so much. Great advice!

When you speak to people about New Zealand, they always ask, are you going to Milford Sound? When I first heard about it, I thought it was a music festival. No wonder people looked at me strangely when my response was, "Yeah probably if it's on when we are there"!! The tour people told us that if it doesn't rain in Fiordland for more than 5 days they consider it a drought, and rain the day before meant we would see waterfalls that would be gone by lunchtime.

Despite many boats at the ready, and even when they are all out on the water, the Sound is so large and beautiful you feel like the only person there. This is one place where tourism hasn't taken over in New Zealand. The photos do the rest of the talking, I'm glad we come here, it's an amazing place!

Our journey then took us back through the winding road, and along the way we found this beautiful Airstream - New Zealand's most inland food truck!

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Since my last post, we have been having quite the change of scenery. We found a massive outdoor car show in Christchurch, and a hunt for an ATM led us to an amazing massive pier soaring out into the ocean. The Gypsy Market didn't disappoint (the mobile houses were amazing!) and before long we were back on the road towards Queenstown.Apparently, it would seem, we are travelling around the South Island backwards. All the tour books, pamphlets, and the Lonely Planet guide, is written as if you get off the Ferry and turn right, rather than left. No big deal, just lots of flicking back and forth and reading chapters back to front... I'll let you know if we discover a reason for the anti-clockwise preference (if you know something we don't, please share!)Now, let's talk about lakes. If there is a place in the world with more beautiful lakes than this, I want to know about it. And I'm from Tasmania so that's pretty high praise. The glacial lakes here are turquoise jewels, vast and deep and clear and brilliant. Photos do not do them justice. The yellow carved hills against cloudy skies frame the lakes perfectly, and they are simply stunning. We were lucky enough to find a free, empty camp alongside one such lake, and enjoyed a quiet evening and cherry pink sunrise in reward. Perfect.These roads leave us aching for something far more nimble and faster than our camper (not that would be hard, fairly sure an elephant is more nimble and a pushbike would be faster in some circumstances...). They are winding, beautiful, well built and wide, and thread through the landscape in all the ways someone who loves being behind the wheel dreams of. Motorbikes are common and the locals zip along like they've stolen it. Next time, we're hiring a V8.It was on one of these beautiful roads we finally encountered the traffic hazard our rental company told us about in their driving video. Sheep! It wouldn't be a trip to NZ without it. I think I was more worried than the sheep about being in their midst. It gave us plenty of time to enjoy the view, and the signs told us these very farms supply the popular brand Kathmandu. Thanks for the wool, dudes!Queenstown is all I imagined it to be. Clean, modern, bussling with young people, endless businesses offering adventure packages and plenty of good pubs. Here we watched para-gliders (and people base jumping off para-gliders!!) over a BBQ, stepped off stairs to nowhere while hanging off some wires, and figured the best way to see nature was in front of two V8 boat engines with pop tunes blaring in our ears. Did I mention it's a strange place?

Monday, March 21, 2016

I used to think 30 was so old - not old as in elderly but old as in grown up. It's an official kind of number that says, you've played up and messed around, and now it's all serious. But now that I'm here, like all ages, it doesn't feel that old, and in fact I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life and although I feel very organised and mature with budgets and paying bills on time and having a plan (I am never without a plan), I haven't sprouted offspring yet and still ignore my superannuation... yes, I really should do something about that.

Being away for this milestone is both amazing and a little sad, not being able to celebrate a "major" birthday without friends and family. Luckily my newly minted husband has made it an awesome day!

Firstly he gave me a lovely local greenstone pendant which I love, and then we are having our first night out of the camper in accommodation at the amazing Eliza's Manor in Christchurch. Out for dinner and everything, horah!

When I look back at my life so far I often worry about wasted time and I wonder if I've really achieved as much as I could have or should have. But then I'm quick to remind myself that I already have a lot more than many people in the world and although its important to have hopes and dreams its just as important to be happy with what you've got, right now, here today. And I have to say that I am pretty happy, obviously being on holidays at the moment but even in the daily grind at home, things are pretty lovely and I'm proud of our little life together and I think most days I'm a pretty good human, so what more is there to want really?

We didn't know what to expect from the South Island. When talking to people about doing to New Zealand, we learned that it's pretty common for people to visit only one island or the other, or both at separate times, and when asked, others always say "both islands are lovely in their own ways". Our plan for the next few weeks is to travel almost right round the South Island.

The difference in landscape from North to South is obvious, although winding roads and steep hills still feature. Grasses seem more common here, giving the place a drier feel. We head from Picton towards Kiakoura, tourist hotspot and whalewatching central.

The trip along the coast was just beautiful, and we enjoyed stopping at the fur seal colony on the way. The weather is stunning once again.

Kiakoura is a lovely little town, and the beach is all dark black volcanic rock. Made for some great photos!

Saturday, March 19, 2016

There are two main ferry companies which operate between Wellington and Picton, taking goods, people and vehicles from one island to the other. You can see the land across the water, it's not that far, and websites and books will tell you that the trip only takes a couple of hours. This is not a lie, but set aside about 5 hours to allow for delays, boarding and unboarding, and the actual sailing itself.The first time we travelled across the water, we went into the terminal, purchased our tickets for the next sailing and away we went. We initially travelled on Bluebridge. After our time on the South Island, we discovered that there are free booklets you can get from the i-Site which contain vouchers for a range of things including a discount on the ferry. This, combined with the discount you get if you book online, means you can save a lot of money this way, and as its not a cheap exercise (our first trip cost over $400), this is what I would recommend.The ships themselves are like mini Spirits of Tasmania. They have optional cabins, various eating areas, a cinema, and areas to sit inside and out. You can't access your vehicle while you are sailing. We found the facilities on Interislander on the way back far superior, although don't bank on the free wifi as it is too heavily used to be any good on the trip.The trip is definitely a scenic one, especially at the South Island part of the journey, so rug up and head out into the cold to get some great images of the landscape!

Friday, March 18, 2016

Here are a few interesting facts about hiring a campervan in New Zealand.Campervans, or motorhomes, are absolutely everywhere in New Zealand. Camping is a favourite past time for Kiwis so the great news is the facilities are very good for people planning on motor homing around the country.We hired our van through Mighty. It appears the hiring companies have a "hand me down" system with the vans. New ones start life as Maui vans, not so new ones end up hiring out through Hertz, and when they are old and tired Mighty provide them to people like us at a very reasonable price. As with most things, you get what you pay for. Our VW diesel had very little in the way of enthusiastic effort, and a death rattle that had even the locals worried, and some of the features you would expect were either missing or not working - such as the auto folding step, 12 volt heater and most annoyingly, no reversing sensors or camera. Overall the van was clean, tidy and had everything we needed, so the missing parts and amusing engine/gearbox characteristics were definitely worth the $4,000 we saved for the 4 week period we hired it.The van we hired was a 4 seater sleeper, although the idea of spending 4 weeks in close quarters with two other people would probably drive me insane. I am sure there are some people that do it. Our van was definitely not the biggest available, but having two sets of wheels at the back was a huge advantage with this sized vehicle, as it was surprisingly stable on the road.It pays to be aware that these 3 tonne beasts are required to drive at 90km/h only, and although they are happy to go faster, the local police disagree, although our brief meeting with the constabulary revealed despite their keen knowledge on speed limits, their knowledge of laws regarding passengers sitting in the back lounge area whilst moving (where there are no seat belts) is a little sketchy. Regardless of law, only an idiot would sit in the back of a moving vehicle with no seat belt on. Apparently many idiots visit New Zealand also.The camping laws are very relaxed in New Zealand compared to Australia. If you are self contained (toilet and shower on board), there are almost endless places you can camp, and the Department of Conversation (NZ Parks & Wildlife) are kind enough to list many camp spots in a handy free brochure that you can get from any i-Site (information centre), or, if you actually look at the paperwork your hire company gives you *cough* you should be given them when you hire the van - one for each island. There are also plenty of caravan parks, which cost an average of $50 for two people overnight at a powered site, and we found many campers taking advantage of pretty well anywhere out of the way. Although its not recommended to "free camp" wherever you please, chances are if you pull up late at night and take off early in the morning without causing a fuss no-one will mind. Common sense prevails here, and you will see many other people doing the same thing.There are a few towns that don't allow free camping, and this is signed very clearly on the road entering these places. Do the right thing and obey the signs - you probably will be keen to enjoy some luxurious caravan park facilities by this stage anyway. New Zealand roads are, overall, very well maintained. This is lucky because they are the most intricate, windy, hilly and precarious roads I've ever experienced in a first world country. Tasmania is known for its roads - New Zealand roads are like Tasmanian roads on steroids. The lumbering, heavy campervan performed very well, but that didn't mean we weren't wishing to be behind the wheel of a V8 Commodore instead, or perhaps something more agile and luxurious. You will see many beautiful classic and performance cars in New Zealand, and while behind the wheel of your campervan you will wish you were driving every single one of them instead. At least the slow pace allows plenty of time to take in the beautiful landscape.Do you ever find tourists in your local area extremely annoying on the roads? Try your best not to be one of these people in New Zealand. There are plenty of opportunities to pull over and let faster vehicles go past, so it pays to do so as soon as you can so those going about their every day lives don't sit behind you and curse your big white camper-whale. Most of the time, doing so will earn you a friendly toot toot of the horn.Some places are kind enough to provide camper van parking in their towns and car parks, so keep an eye out for the signs. You will also find dump sites extremely easy to find, they are literally everywhere which makes life very easy.Also, never believe the GPS or Google Maps when it comes to driving times. If Lonely Planet says it will take 5 hours to do 250km, they mean it. As I mentioned, the roads are beautiful and insane.Overall I would definitely recommend visiting New Zealand via camper van. It's great to have snacks and facilities onboard, you don't have to drag a suitcase into a hotel every night and when it's pouring with rain in the middle of nowhere you have somewhere warm and dry to be.

The van was a bit long for standard parks, but most places were easy to park at anyway